So following the under the sea themed cruise launched in mid-July, there was no further new content for four weeks. In some ways this wasn't as horrendous as it may sound, partly because the cruise does typically get a two week slot anyway to allow players the opportunity to start at a later date if they so wish.
And to be honest the drought suited me just fine. As much as I do enjoy the challenge the quests bring, it can get stressful and very time consuming. So following completion of the under the sea cruise I found myself relishing the opportunity to focus on mastering the many permanent dishes and learning more of the stamp recipes.
At the time of writing I've managed to amass 635 mastery stars which going by what I've seen puts me among the 'elite' of the game on this front. But there's always more to be achieved, with this made very clear by Creme's 733 stars - I can never seem to close the gap!
So 28 days on from the release of the under the sea cruise, the Global Games Cruise Event arrived (on a Wednesday which is unusual!)
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| Introduction to Global Games Cruise Event |
When Storm8 refer to the 'Global Games' they are of course alluding to the Olympics while avoiding the need to pay a fee! I really hoped to see some Olympic themed stuff introduced (or even re-introduced) in the original game, so it was nice to see such decor released in the sequel at least.
We were given much longer than normal to complete the cruise goal as well as master the two limited time recipes added alongside, which did lead to concerns that this cruise may be the only event for a while. Luckily that hasn't proven the case, but this is a fine example of a situation where the game's developers could really help the players out by providing some communication regarding their plans. However at this point I've given up any hope of Storm8 being open and connective!
The decorations available to win in this cruise were a mixed bag in my view. At a glance it was the fluttering flags I was most keen to take a closer look at, but I was left really disappointed. And not because of the gem cost - I'd have been alright with parting with some gems for these. Instead it was the diminutive size of the flags that was the let down. They really needed to be at least the height of the flags in the original game, but instead didn't capture the magnitude of seeing your nation's flag raised in a medal ceremony at the Olympics.
The Winner Winner Chicken Dinner and Participant's Trophy also disappointed me - they're standard trophies which in isolation is decent enough. But they don't hand out trophies at the Olympics! A table of medals is what was required here!
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However there were some high points. The Grand Games Torch captured the scale of the Games perfectly, while I like the relative simplicity of the Winner's Stand. Then there's the Gym Star who does a lovely little twirl with her ribbon. If anything it's just a shame that there weren't more athletes released.
My journey through the cruise was serene, with the final prize obtained with ease. That final prize was Miguel the Champion, who looks a little like Thiago Braz da Silva, the Brazilian pole vaulter who provided one of the highlights of Rio 2016. His visits to your diner bear Torches which are a constituent of the Champion's Feast, a new gem producing recipe on the Jubilee Oven. That's us up to five gem makers on that appliance, and 14 in total.
Among the prizes along the path to glory in the cruise were stamps, including a number of the gold variety (how appropriate for an Olympic themed cruise!) Little did we know at the time how handy those stamps would prove when the next update rolled along...
A week past Thursday there were no fewer than nine new recipes introduced, all requiring recipe cards to learn and a stamp ingredient from Lani's Farm Fresh Stand to cook.
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| Notification for new stamp recipes and quests |
Having learnt all but two of the existing stamp dishes and even mastered a couple, I was pleased to see a further collection added. Some players seem to really dislike the stamps feature but I think it provides another long-term aim that can keep us busy during the quieter periods.
As with the previous batch these new stamp recipes come with some pretty special statistics, with their coins per plate in particular being startling. Only a few of the dishes have had their numbers posted thus far, but of those it is the Dark Chocolate Mocha on the Commercial Range and Persimmon Glazed Ham on the Diner Oven which give the highest yields at 100 coins per plate each (equalling the best of those from the first batch of stamp dishes). That's pretty staggering and makes them fantastic recipes to prepare if your counters are continually stocked.
Along with these recipes were a couple of time limited one-step quests giving the chance to earn some additional gold and silver stamps.
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| Silver stamp goal |
At a glance these may have looked like a real challenge (25 Tuna Sandwiches?!) but with a week to get through them it was actually easy enough, at least for me. Even the goal with a gold stamp prize wasn't too tough, despite a thoroughly convenient first step that essentially gave us the opportunity to choose a start time, much like with the cruises. Seeing this made me believe that a hellish challenge was ahead, but ultimately it was reasonably simple.
There was also the opportunity to gain stamps via regular cooking with random drops of stamps (of any colour) for cooking dishes across the appliances. And anyone who picked up this update quickly may have experienced a really useful bug like I did - for a short time every served food would produce a bronze stamp! With a full set of appliances churned out I was able to gather about 16 bronze stamps in an instant, very handy!
And then two days ago the whole process was repeated, with another trio of quests popping up. There were no further stamp recipes introduced, but we did get the honour of hosting Lani in our restaurants.
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| Lani visiting The Onion Bush |
The cheery soul puts in an appearance every 4 hours or so and brings a strong possibility of a stamp drop. We're still waiting to hear if she's going to be a permanent customer - I think it would be a wise move but that doesn't always mean Storm8 do!
It's been really satisfying to have the Farm Fresh Stand continually rumbling over the past fortnight. With goal sets suddenly becoming scarce of late the opportunities to earn stamps have faded, which makes this a real boost. It also indicates that the stamps and recipe cards were not a one-off. They're something that the gamemakers are investing in and that - in my opinion - is a good thing moving forward.
This coming week will mark four weeks since the release of the Olympic cruise which does leave me expecting another this Thursday. Despite the stress they can cause I do now find myself hoping for a regular quest! It's been too long since the Wild West theme and all those hats, and it's definitely best for Storm8 to keep varying the challenges in order to keep the players hooked. As significant as the gem producing prizes may be, there is a risk of the cruises becoming tiresome if they're the only serious events that come our way.
That does it for the round-up, although there is still time for me to provide a glimpse at the latest revamp to my place, The Onion Bush.
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| Copacabana beach theme at The Onion Bush |
Inspired by the Olympic cruise I decided to bring Brazil's Copacabana beach to the customers! I'd planned to do a beach theme anyway given the impressive collection of beach themed stuff I've accumulated from numerous quests over time, and the Olympics gave me the perfect excuse.
The Winner's Stand overlooks the gymnasts who are going through their paces. The Gym Star and Fabulous Fitness Instructor are undoubtedly the favourites to medal, but the Mardi Gras Jester and Mariachi are giving it a good go!
Over in the sea I've made quick use of the Aquarium Column from the under the sea cruise. I parted with a lot of gems to pick up several copies, with the idea of putting them in a line to represent the deep ocean. But it's Lefty the Shark who is my favourite - he's just so goofy!
And it's with a goofy shark that I leave you. As we head for Autumn I'm hoping for some really beautiful content to match the season - we've seen Autumn done so wonderfully in the original title so many times before that I'm anticipating great things. We'll see!
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